Fallen
by ReadingRaven019
Summary: Merlin goes hunting for herbs for Gaius one day and doesn't return. Arthur gets worried and goes after him. Not much of a plot, but lots of angst and fun. Just a five chapter story. No slash. Set after season 4.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is my new story. It isn't going to be very long, I've already finished it actually. It will be five chapters. I am considering a sequel though, it wouldn't be posted any time soon, but we'll just see how this goes first. Hopefully you like it. It's nothing complex or anything, but it was fun to write. Well, don't sit here reading this little authors note, go on and read the story! Off with you now!**

* * *

Chapter One

Merlin awoke that day unaware that things were about to go very horribly wrong. No it wasn't an evil sorcerer plotting against Arthur's life or even some magical beast terrorizing Camelot. In fact it effected Arthur very little, in perspective at least. It was actually a rather normal uneventful day, given the day hadn't been more than a few minutes long for Merlin at this point. It all started with Merlin being awoken by a slightly grumpy Gaius. Merlin opened his eyes blearily, to see his guardian standing over him, shaking him awake. Merlin quickly glanced at his window. It was still dark. Now he was slightly grumpy.

"What is it Gaius? It's too early for me to get up," Merlin complained turning away and snuggling under his blanket trying to fall asleep again.

"Sorry Merlin but I need you to collect some herbs for me," Gaius said ripping Merlin's blanket away from him.

"Can't you just go buy some in the market?" Merlin asked trying to squirm his way out through any opportunity.

"You know very well that all the markets have run out of herbs. We only just came out of winter last week. It will take them some time to restock, which means we have to do so on our own, now get moving!" He said taking away Merlin's pillow. When that failed to persuade him out of bed Gaius tugged the young man off his cot and onto the cold stone floor.

"Hey!" Merlin yelped as he quickly froze outside his warm bed. Gaius left knowing Merlin wouldn't be able to sleep for some time now.

Merlin glared for a moment before sitting on his bed smacking his lips tiredly. Finally he started to get dressed. He grabbed a bag to store the herbs he would pick and Gaius handed him a list of the herbs he needed.

"Oh and Merlin," Gaius said as final words of advice as he handed Merlin his breakfast that consisted of a chunk of bread. "The last herb there may not yet be found anywhere. It usually takes a little more time to grow after the winter."

Merlin nodded tiredly and left wordlessly as he nibbled on his bread.

* * *

Arthur started his morning with Gwen shaking him awake gently. He smiled groggily at the sight of her face. For once he wasn't being woken by an annoying idiot and his annoying and unusual cheerful smile that seemed to defy logic so early in the morning. Then Arthur realized it wasn't morning. Not early morning. Not when he was supposed to have woken up. Merlin was late. Again. Arthur jumped out of bed and let Gwen help him get dressed.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner, better yet where is that idiot whose supposed to be doing his job right about now?" Arthur questioned.

"I just thought you looked so peaceful, so I let you sleep in a little. It's hardly a crime. You could use it. As to where Merlin is, I have no idea. He never showed up," Gwen was always waking up on time, almost always before Merlin would arrive.

Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin's disappearance. "Guess I'll just have to throw him in the stocks or something," Arthur mused a little too gleefully for Gwen's taste, earning him a slight smack to the back of his head.

"You will do no such thing," Gwen reprimanded. She never let Arthur have any fun, at least when it came to torturing Merlin. Although, he still managed to get away with throwing the occasional goblet at the idiot when Gwen wasn't looking.

"He didn't even finish his chores from yesterday," Arthur complained as they both made their way towards the physicians chambers to find the boy in question.

"I don't blame him," Gwen continued as they continued. Merlin had shown up late enough times since they got married that they didn't even say anything about what they were doing or where they were going. They simply went to find Merlin whenever he showed up late. Gwen went out of concern that he might be sick or injured and Arthur to have the pleasure of throwing something at him. "You work him too hard, and he has to work for both of us now. You could go a bit easier on him you know," Gwen consoled.

They had had this conversation a few times, but all that came of it was a couple of days where Merlin would get a slightly more manageable workload. Most of the time Merlin kept how overloaded he was from Gwen to keep her from worrying, but every now and then she would notice and get on Arthur about it. The conversation continued on its normal route until they arrived at the doors to the physicians chambers.

They entered without knocking to find Gaius closely examining a strangely colored vial of liquid. He looked at them briefly when they entered, but continued working.

Gwen and Arthur didn't get a chance to say a thing before Gaius answered the question he knew they would ask. "Merlin's not here."

"Then where is he?" Gwen asked kindly as Arthur just put his hands on his hips and looked disapproving at Merlin's door.

"I asked him to collect a few herbs for me this morning. He hasn't quite returned," Gaius answered as he poured a sickly green liquid into a brown one.

"He sure is taking his sweet time," Arthur complained.

"Arthur," Gwen said unfavorably.

Gaius shook his head. "Actually he should have been back by now. I wonder what's taking him," Gaius said stopping his work and looking slightly concerned.

"At the tavern I suppose," Arthur huffed.

"This early?" Gwen pointed out.

"I've told you, he has a serious problem," Arthur said looking bored.

"He's not at the tavern," Gaius said frowning even more. He knew the young man never went there, Arthur just didn't know that from all the times he had used it as an excuse when Merlin was off saving the world.

"Then where is he?" Arthur asked. A seed of worry was planted in his brain. He wanted to uproot it before it grew.

Gaius shrugged, "I've no idea."

* * *

It had been a year since they had regained the kingdom from Morgana, again. A year of blissful marriage for Arthur and Gwen. It had been rather peaceful, surprisingly, but not everyone was happy. Merlin had to work harder now that he served both Gwen and Arthur. During Gwen's first month of being queen, she hadn't wanted to let Merlin do anything for her and would secretly do chores every now and then. Merlin had finally convinced her to stop that, but it did leave him with more to do. There was also Tristan who still mourned Isolde, but that only made him focus on being a good knight, a great one actually. Arthur had finally promoted him to training the new knights since he had little time for that now. Still, most of Camelot loved their new queen and prospered as there was no word of Morgana to be heard of anywhere.

Other than Gwen being queen and a new knight, things were much the same. Merlin pondered on everything that had changed, and what was in store. He mostly thought about Morgana and as to where she might have disappeared to and how. He was barely paying attention to the herbs he was collecting, though it had become easy to identify them that it hardly required much thinking.

It had still been rather dark when Merlin had entered the forest, but the sky was starting to lighten up slowly. The sun had nearly come up all the way by the time he had finished two thirds of the list. Merlin sighed. He couldn't help but also think about all the chores Arthur had in store for him. He had somehow managed to neglect several tasks the previous day which means he had to do all his normal tasks and finish everything he hadn't yesterday. That and he was already going to be late. It would mean a full days work with little rest. He probably wouldn't even be able to have lunch. He might get dinner if he was lucky.

Merlin sighed again as he reached the last two herbs on the list. f_everfew and bergamot_, Merlin read. Merlin looked for the small white flower of the feverfew he knew wouldn't be a problem to find. They grew like weeds. He located a bush not far off in front of a wall of boulders. Merlin barely glanced at the rocks and moved on to making an attempt to find the elusive bergamot. He decided to look for ten minutes before giving up, so he started to look for the scarlet flower that would indicate it's presence.

He walked away from the wall of boulders for a couple of minutes before swinging round again taking him uphill. He was looking for the great soil the bergamot required and found several spots that would be perfect for it, but still there was no bush full of scarlet flowers. He reached the top of the hill and turned around again. He was just about to give up when he saw it.

There it was just sitting between some rocks. It wasn't much, but Merlin figured any was better than none. He realized this was just above that wall of stone where he had found the feverfew. It had probably been just out of sight where it was. Merlin rolled his eyes at the plants trickiness and walked towards it. Then suddenly the ground cracked and Merlin felt his stomach rise and fill with butterflies. He was falling down, down into blackness. It was just before hitting the ground that he realized it was a long ways he had fallen and that it probably wasn't a good thing.

Merlin managed to land on one of his feet, but he didn't stay that way long. He buckled and felt something snap. He threw his arm out to catch himself and felt another wave of pain. Finally his head reached the ground with a smack and blackness filled his mind.

* * *

**There's the first chapter. I hope you lied it. Next one will be up soon. Probably Saturday or Sunday. See you then!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is, the second chapter. I hope you like it. Not a lot of dialogue, but Merlin can't exactly talk to himself without being absolutely crazy. **

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Chapter Two

When Merlin woke up, he couldn't help but notice that his body throbbed with pain. He slowly raised his head painfully before resting it on the ground again. He assessed where the pain radiated from and found three different places. The most painful came from his left leg, a broken bone he guessed. Another throb from his left wrist where he had tried to catch himself. He tested it's mobility, but stopped quickly. He gathered it probably wasn't broken, but he wouldn't be using it for some time or at least until he got some serious help and a few days rest. The last pain came from his head where he had smacked it on the ground. Quickly running through the list of things to look for in head trauma patients he found it might possibly be a slight concussion, but it he conceded that he might think that because of the killer headache he was currently feeling. His head was probably fine.

After a few minutes of resting and trying to maintain his pain and lessen his headache he attempted to sit up and fix himself up. His first attempt failed as he laid back down. He tried again a few minutes later and managed to find a nearby wall that he could lean against. Every movement jarred each injury causing new pulses of pain, but he knew it was going to get a lot worse before it got better. Merlin said a quick spell he knew might help some of his injuries. It helped his wrist slightly and his headache started to go away, but his leg remained the same. He didn't know any spells that could mend broken bones and made a note to himself to look one up. If he ever got back home that is. He knew he couldn't set his own bone, or if it even required setting, but he needed to find a way to keep the swelling down.

Merlin looked around him and took in his surroundings wondering exactly where he was and what he had available to him. He noticed he was in a cave, and old one that had been sealed many many years ago. He could make out the shape and size of the cavern from the sunlight that poured through the hole at the top from which he fell. It was too far up to even hope to be able to climb out. The entrance, or what used to be the entrance, was sealed off by a familiar set of boulders. It was rather spacious, but there wasn't anything but rock and the musty dirt below. He still had his bag full of herbs, which he noted could be very useful, He also had a small half filled canteen of water, but other than that he had nothing.

Taking a deep breath to calm down since he knew his situation was rather unconventional he set to work on himself. He quickly rifled through his bag of herbs to find the best painkillers. He couldn't treat them where he was so they would work their best, but most would still work by sucking or chewing. He shoved a few leaves in his mouth and chewed a minute before sucking the juices down his throat. It definitely didn't taste good, but the relief it would bring was worth it. Soon the pain decreased a little, helping him think clearer and making him more awake.

He took off his neckerchief and tore it in two, which was rather difficult with one hand. He wrapped one half around his wrist as tightly as he could and wrapped the other half around his leg. It wouldn't do much, but it was all he could do. Next he sorted through the herbs picking out which would be most useful to him. Once he had finished with that he sat back and tried to relax and focus on anything but the pain.

He thought about how he might get him self out of the cursed cave, but quickly concluded it would be impossible on his own. Then he wondered how long it might take to rescue him. He looked at his small supply of herbs and water. Things didn't look good for him. Not at all.

* * *

Arthur couldn't help but notice the little seed of worry was growing as the day moved on. He had just gotten out of a long and boring meeting with his counselors and had gone to check with Gaius to see if Merlin had returned. No suck luck. The worry evident on Gaius' face made that worry seed grow even more. Arthur was determined to pluck that growing seed before it established its roots. He quickly left the physicians chambers and searched for someone he knew he could trust. He passed Gwaine and stopped. He was good enough.

"Gwaine," Arthur called making the knight turn round with his permanent grin plastered on his face.

"How can I help you this beautiful day?" Gwaine asked stepping closer to Arthur.

"I need you to do me a favor," Arthur said somewhat begrudgingly.

"It would be my honor," he said in an almost mocking way. "What could someone so high and mighty need from a lowly knight such as myself?"

"It's Merlin," Arthur said. That certainly shut him up, his smile remained but it was a little more strained as he stood a little straighter. "He's gone missing. I was hoping you could find him for me."

"Finally scare him off have you," Gwaine said.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "He went out to get herbs for Gaius and never came back. Look through the town and see if you can find him," Arthur instructed ignoring his last comment.

"As you wish," Gwaine said bowing and turning away.

"Oh and Gwaine," Arthur said stopping him. "Take Percival with you. He'll keep you out of the tavern."

"Can Tristan come alone too?" Gwaine asked.

"Do whatever you like. Just find Merlin," Arthur said walking away.

Gwaine's smile was completely gone. When it came to Merlin, he would make no stop at the tavern or stop to converse with any pretty young girls. He was worried about his friend, and he would find him. Whatever it took.

* * *

Merlin looked up through the hole in the roof of the cave. He had briefly thought he had heard someone coming. He had begun yelling for help, but it had just been some animal. He thought maybe eventually someone would pass by, but he was in a rather empty part of the forest, few lived anywhere near here, and fewer ventured through. His best hope was that someone would start looking for him. Someone back in Camelot.

He knew Gaius would be worried at this point. He had taken longer than usual before he had fallen which might help them find him sooner. A few hours had passed by which would certainly alert him that something was wrong. Arthur would be angry at his being missing, but would hopefully send someone out looking for him. Gwen certainly might. The question was whether they would be able to find him down in this hole before he starved to death.

He knew Gaius might send them in the direction most of the herbs would be found, but Merlin was worried he might have wandered farther than usual. Farther than might be expected. He thought of asking Kilgharrah for help, but dismissed it quickly. Kilgharrah would have to land on the cave, and that would more than likely cause his own death from falling rocks if the whole dragon didn't just fall through. Kilgharrah could do nothing for him. He thought of blasting the boulders away that blocked the entrance, but knew that might also risk collapsing the cave. There was a possibility he would never be found, and there was nothing he could do to help himself. Nothing scared him more than that.

* * *

Gwen knew Arthur might not do anything to find Merlin, but she would. She sought out her brother after she could no longer stand not knowing where Merlin was. She found him in his room, sharpening his sword.

"Elyan," Gwen said softly walking slowly into his room.

Elyan smiled and put his sharpening stone down. "Hello Gwen," he noticed the frown on her face. "What's wrong? Is Arthur-"

"Arthur's fine," she reassured. "It's Merlin. He's gone missing."

"You want me to look for him," Elyan guessed.

Gwen nodded. "I just know he can be a bit of a magnet for trouble. It would be a comfort to know someone is looking out for him."

"Of course," Elyan said sheathing his sword.

"And take Leon with you," Gwen said before giving his brother a hug. "Thank you Elyan," she said leaving quietly. Now she just hopped that he would find Merlin, and quickly.

* * *

Merlin was testing out his wrist again. It was still swollen and painful, but he could use it if he had to. He looked up through the hole. The sun was starting to descend through the sky, making it a little harder to see anything in the cave. He kept thinking if there was any way to alert anyone he was nearby at the very least. His eyes finally rested on his herb satchel. It was the only thing he could spare. He needed his coat for the cold night that was sure to come. Herbs would do nothing to alert anyone to his presence. It was the only thing that might work. He muttered a quick spell and sent the satchel through the hole and hopefully somewhere where it would be seen.

Every minute the room got colder and colder. The winter had only just ended making the nights rather freezing. He pulled his coat around him tighter and with a flash of his eyes lit a fire. He didn't have any wood, but magic fire didn't need any. It helped keep him warm, but he could still feel the chill in his back where he rested on the cave wall. All he could do was wait out the night. No help would be able to come until tomorrow. He laid down slowly and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

**Well, I hope you liked it. I had fun writing it. I should update on Tuesday, unless something comes up, yeah. Thanks for reading!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again. I've been having family troubles. My cousin and my aunt were murdered Sunday and my uncle is missing. My mother was very close to him and is having a hard time. It's a good thing this story is already done or I might not have updated in a while because of this. Just mentioning it in their memory. Hope you don't mind. Anyway. Here is chapter three. I hope you enjoy and thank you all again for your wonderful support and reviews. Enjoy!**

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Chapter Three

Arthur sat at his table, staring down his dinner as if it was a criminal he was interrogating. He found he wasn't hungry. Gwen had already eaten, but paced quietly behind him. Neither spoke of what was bothering them. Each knew exactly what it was without needing to say it. They were both worried about Merlin. As the sun went down, the worry increased, but still they remained silent, trying to deny the thought of what might have befallen their friend.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door making them both jump and stare at the door hungrily. They both raced to the door and threw them open to reveal Gwaine. Gwen visibly slumped where she stood with disappointment.

"Did you find him?" Arthur asked immediately.

Gwaine shook his head sadly. "I searched everywhere, Merlin is nowhere in the city."

Gwen looked at her husband questioningly. "You sent Gwaine to look for Merlin?"

"Don't worry, I sent Percival and Tristan with him to keep him out of the taverns," Arthur said thinking that was what she was worried about.

"No, it's not that. I just didn't know you'd sent anyone at all," Gwen said softly.

"Of course I did. Do you think me so heartless?"

"No, It's just that, well, you usually just get annoyed when Merlin goes missing. He does disappear sometimes. I just figured you wouldn't think twice to send someone to look around."

Arthur looked like he wanted to defend his pride further, but sobered instead. "Something is different about this time. I know it is. I know he's in trouble," Arthur said instead.

Gwen nodded.

"You sure you didn't just make him run away?" Gwaine asked just to make sure.

Arthur didn't even blink an eye. "He didn't take any clothes or supplies with him," Arthur said revealing he had checked and that he had thought that maybe that was what Merlin had done. "Not that I did anything to chase him away," he quickly tried to backtrack.

Gwaine rolled his eyes, but was suddenly knocked to the ground by a rushing Elyan.

"Ooo, Sorry," Elyan said picking himself up off the ground.

"Why in such a rush?" Gwaine asked as Elyan helped him up.

"Sorry, I just wasn't looking I guess, and I needed to tell... Gwen!" he said finally realizing Arthur and Gwen were standing there looking at him.

"Did you find Merlin? Gwaine had no such luck," Gwen asked.

"You sent someone too?" Arthur asked perplexed.

"Why of course I did. I've been worried sick about him," Gwen said shortly before turning back to Elyan for any news.

"I'm afraid he is nowhere to be found. I did find a few people who said they saw him going into the woods, but no one saw him return. I think he may still be out there," Elyan reported. Gwaine felt stupid for not have asking those kinds of questions, to see if Merlin had in fact come back.

Everyone began thinking of what could have befallen him in those woods. Bandits, wolves, sorcerers, they all thought these things, but no one said a word. They were all too worried. Arthur glanced outside. It was getting dark. Merlin hadn't even been missing one whole day, but he had them all worried. He couldn't go searching for him tonight, searching for a man in the dark was as hard as sword fighting with a spatula. It just didn't work.

Thinking for a moment more, Arthur made a plan. "Elyan, Gwaine, gather a few knights together and pack for tomorrow morning. We leave at dawn."

Elyan bowed respectfully while Gwaine nodded sternly. Arthur closed the door and let out a sigh. He wanted to do something immediately, but there was nothing he could do. Merlin would just have to survive one night on his own. Gwen hugged Arthur, glad he wasn't going to just let Merlin disappear for a few days while she worried. Arthur hugged back, glad she was still around and safe. He hoped that by this time tomorrow night Merlin would be there serving him dinner with his goofy grin as usual. For now, hope would have to do.

* * *

Merlin had trouble getting to sleep. He couldn't move around much to make himself more comfortable without jostling his injured leg. Constant pain made it hard to relax, but the main problem was the cold. Merlin couldn't stop shivering in the winter like air. The fire he made certainly helped, but it could only do so much. Merlin didn't get much sleep that night, he was unsure if he got any. Yet when the sun rose, he stopped trying in order to listen for any passerby that might be able to help him. He couldn't very well do that if he was asleep.

He still had to keep the fire for a few hours after dawn, but eventually it warmed up enough for him to put it out. His stomach growled and his throat felt dry. He had a few berries from one of the herb plants he had picked, but he wasn't sure he should eat them just yet. He had no idea how long he was going to be down there. It was the same with the water, he needed to use it sparingly. He listened quietly for any noise, but there was nothing but the rustling of the trees and occasional birdsong.

Merlin grew extremely bored after a few hours. He started doing little magic tricks to distract him from his hunger and pain. He sent little rocks flying through the air and made glowing colored lights, anything that didn't make much noise. It felt nice to be able to use his magic so freely, but every now and then he would stop and just listen. Listen for any little voice, any timid footsteps. Nothing. Not even a whisper.

Merlin would frown after each pause between magical entertainment. Negative and horrible thoughts began to intrude his mind. He began thinking Arthur might never send help, might never even miss him. That no one even noticed he was gone.

The day wore on and these thoughts persisted. Perhaps it was dehydration, hunger, sleep deprivation or all of them combined that made these thoughts strong. He was starting to believe them. Merlin was losing hope.

* * *

Arthur got little sleep that night. He couldn't help but think that he was safe and comfortable while Merlin was who knew where. Gwen didn't sleep much either. She had much of the same thoughts, except her mind lingered on what might have befallen the young man. Arthur jumped out of bed an hour before sunrise to prepare for the search. He and Gwen quickly dressed and Arthur asked Gwen to take care of his duties for him. She at first wanted to go with, but one of them needed to stay around and keep things running, and Arthur didn't want Gwen in danger. Arthur then left with the knights who were waiting patiently for him (everyone but Gwaine who complained he was tardy) and started the search for Merlin.

Elyan led the way since he had actually asked both Gaius and townspeople where Merlin had gone exactly. It couldn't tell them exactly where he was, but it certainly narrowed it down. Now all they could hope for was that he was still around the area and not taken by bandits or something.

They tried picking up his trail, but whatever remained of it was disjointed and confusing, the rest of it covered over by other animal tracks that led nowhere. They traveled for hours, at first remaining in a relatively small area that he was supposed to be in. That lasted them half the day. After they could find no trace they expanded their search.

As every hour passed, Arthur's heart felt heavier and heavier. If he didn't find him today, he feared he might never be able to. He might have been carried off to some other kingdom by slave traders and would be long gone or perhaps he had been eaten by some creature and would never be found. Arthur couldn't let himself think that way. He needed Merlin. He was his best friend, his only friend. He couldn't give up hope. So he didn't.

Arthur kept looking. Even after the sun began to go down and the knights constantly suggested they return to Camelot or at least rest, he continued looking. It was only after darkness had fallen that he finally conceded to the knights and let the horses and tired men rest. He beat himself up inside his head for not being able to find his friend. He kept thinking he should have started looking for him as soon as he knew he was missing. Then maybe he might have been able to find Merlin sooner, before something terrible could have happened to him. He kept thinking he should have sent a knight with Merlin to keep himself safe or even protected Merlin himself. No matter what he thought, it didn't change the situation right now. He promised himself he would change things to keep things like this from happening. With those thoughts he tried to sleep, but ended up just staring at the stars hoping Merlin was looking at them too. Wherever he was.

* * *

Merlin was struggling to stay awake as the sun started to go down again. He had used magic to entertain himself half the day and sang to himself the other half. His voice was raw and too dry to sing a few hours before sundown. His stomach growled louder and louder, it had been nearly two days since he had eaten. He looked at the few berries and decided he should eat them. Another freezing night would make them inedible and he thought it might make it a little easier to sleep with something in his stomach. He popped the few berries in his mouth and was disappointed far too soon when they ran out.

He started another fire as it started to get cold again. He tried to make up other spells that might warm the room around him or block out the cold, but each attempt failed. After a while he laid down again and managed to fall asleep. His last thought was, _no one came for me..._

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**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. I will have the next chapter up sometime soon. Not sure when. Anywhere from Thursday to Saturday. I guess the number of review and stuff will determine that. Thanks again for reading!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Let me start off by saying thank you all for your support. I got so many kind words from you all and it meant a lot. I can't explain my gratitude. Thank you all so much. I know me and my family will get through this with time. I luckily have so much support from everyone, including you strangers. So thank you. **

**Moving on, I will start with the good news that my finals are over and I will have lots of time to write this summer once I get a job. Also my cousin just got married, so that's been mostly good. I've already started another story, though it will be a lot longer meaning it will take some time to finish, but it will get done. Once again thank you everyone and enjoy chapter four.  
**

* * *

Chapter Four

Arthur woke up on the cold hard ground. He had been freezing the whole night, but didn't care. He had risen early again, having to force some of the knights awake. The knights that complained about the few hours of sleep and freezing cold were sent home immediately. Arthur didn't want anyone who didn't care about Merlin to find him. They set out deeper into the forest.

* * *

Merlin woke an hour after sunrise. He beat himself up for sleeping in. Possible help could have walked by and he wouldn't have known. He stopped beating himself up when he remembered that no one was looking for him, at least that was what his mindset was. Merlin tried swallowing but his mouth was too dry. He looked at his small pouch of water, he wouldn't last much longer without it. He shakily reached for it and poured a mouthful into his mouth. He swore he had never tasted water so good. Well almost never. There was the time when Arthur had killed the unicorn and brought drought and famine upon Camelot. It was very similar, but being in the now, he felt this thirst was a lot worse. He couldn't even keep drinking, he had to conserve. That alone definitely made it worse. He sighed and went back to what he had to do. He listened.

* * *

They shouted his name, searched for any signs of him beneath every rock and behind every tree. Still nothing turned up. Around noon Arthur called for a much needed break. They all gathered around for a meager lunch after skipping breakfast, still no one complained. Gwaine argued with Arthur for stopping at all, but Arthur insisted. They had come to a stop in a small clearing near some small white flowers while they rested and ate. Arthur pondered where Merlin could be.

* * *

Merlin was very very_ very_ bored. He had tried every magic trick he could think of the previous day and had run out of songs to sing. He was out of hope. It had been over two days since he had fallen down in this wretched cave. He was exhausted. Pain was continual and he hadn't slept well since he had been in Camelot. All that emotion made Merlin rather angry and bitter. Still the anger would pass and in it's place depression would fill.

Merlin knew he wouldn't last one more night.

* * *

Arthur and the knights finished their lunch, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan and Percival didn't eat much. They found themselves without much of an appetite. Arthur slowly moved to mount his horse once more when something caught his eye. He froze where he stood and just stared. His heart began beating faster and a smile lit up his face.

"Are you alright sire?" Percival asked thinking Arthur might have finally snapped.

Arthur ignored the knights strange looks and briskly made his way over to a large wall of rocks. He stopped right in front of it and looked up. He went up on his tip toes and grabbed what had caught his attention. He grinned as he had confirmed what he thought. It was Merlin's bag. He'd recognize it anywhere.

Merlin was near.

"Spread out, find Merlin. He has to be around here somewhere!" Arthur shouted excitedly.

Everybody started fumbling around, trying to follow his orders, new enthusiasm filling each of them. Then Arthur frowned.

"Stop!" he yelled. "Stop moving! Everybody STOP!" He shouted.

Everyone froze, some in rather strange positions, but no one stirred the air.

Arthur had heard something. Something faint, so faint he thought maybe he was just hearing things. He listened. Every ear listened to catch whatever sound Arthur had heard. Arthur waited a long moment before the noise came again. It was just an eerie sound. Didn't really sound like anything at all, but a distant echo. He smiled as he realized where Merlin was. Then frowned again as he realized where Merlin was. He suddenly hoped it really wasn't Merlin, and there was a possibility it wasn't. Whoever the voice belonged to was behind the boulders, boulders certainly too large to move. Arthur slowly started moving along the wall of stone to see if there was a break anywhere, when he noticed a strange thing.

The noise got louder when he moved in certain directions. The knights still frozen watched their king warily. Their king finally turned to them and looked annoyed.

"Don't just stand there, help me find a way into this thing," he said as he walked around, trying to see if there was another entrance in its side somewhere.

The knights slowly moved, trying to make as little noise as possible so they could also determine where an entrance might possibly be. Arthur slowly moved more and more to the side of the blocked entrance and found himself going uphill. Surprisingly the voice got louder even though he was moving farther away. When the ground leveled off again he made his way back towards the concealed cave. The voice became clearer. He could make out words!

"...body out there? Hello?" Came a voice. Arthur knew it was Merlin. He had found Merlin! He broke out in a wide smile as elation filled him. He had finally found Merlin!

"MERLIN!" He cried still trying to locate where the voice was originating from.

"Arthur?" Came a distant voice.

"Merlin! I'm coming!" Arthur called as he slowly moved forward.

"NO!" came Merlin's voice. Arthur was stunned for a moment and froze in place.

"Why not?" He asked exasperated. He had found Merlin, he thought the stupid idiot should be a little more grateful for all the trouble Arthur went to.

"It's dangerous! *muffled words* fall through too!"

Arthur was confused, but moved forward a little more cautiously. Then he saw the hole. Understanding came to him. Merlin had fallen through the weak ground, or was it a ceiling? Arthur shrugged to himself. He moved slowly, testing the ground before moving forward. Slowly he made his way to the hole and peered in. He didn't immediately see Merlin, but after searching for a second in the dark hole he located a shape he knew to be his friend.

"Merlin!" He called happily.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried back. "You came!"

"Of course I did you idiot," Arthur yelled. "Are you alright?"

A pause. "My leg's broken," Merlin started. Arthur frowned. He had been hoping the idiot had only just fallen in and not been able to get out. "I haven't had a lot of food or water down here and I think I've sprained my wrist," Merlin finished.

Arthur thought for a moment. "Don't worry Merlin. I'll get you out of there. Don't move," he said before realizing how stupid that had sounded as Merlin softly chuckled. Merlin couldn't go anywhere. Arthur rolled his eyes at himself and turned to find the knights.

Arthur ran into Percival, Elyan, Leon, Tristan, and Gwaine.

"I've found him!" he exclaimed happily. The knights smiled and cheered at the news. Gwaine immediately suggested the tavern. The rest of the knights immediately declined.

Once they calmed again, Arthur explained Merlin's condition and location and instructed them to throw down some food and water for him. Once the knights understood their task they went off to accomplish it. Arthur then turned to a few of the extra knights that had tagged along. He instructed them to return to Camelot and bring a long rope as well as Gaius. They left promptly and Arthur returned to the hole Merlin had fallen through. Things were going to be alright.

* * *

Merlin had heard some noises, but first passed it off as another passing animal. Then the noise persisted and he began to wonder... He tried calling out, but his dry throat wouldn't allow him at first. He drank the rest of his water and tried yelling again. He was just about to give up when he heard the unmistakable voice of a certain prat. Relief flooded him as he realized he was going to live. He was going to be alright. Arthur had come.

* * *

A few hours later the knights returned with Gaius and a long piece of rope. Gaius had been alarmed of course, but was glad Merlin had been found.

Arthur threw down the rope and Merlin tied it around his waist. The knights, with difficulty even for someone so skinny, hauled him gently to the surface doing what they could to keep Merlin's leg as still as possible. Arthur grimaced at the sight of Merlin's leg as Gaius carefully examined it. It was swollen to twice its size despite Merlin's attempts to keep it down. It was nearly black with all the bruises, but no bone broke the skin and Gaius said it was a clean break. Then came the worst part, made even worse by the long period of no treatment. Gaius had to fix the bone, which caused Merlin to scream out in great pain even through the rolled up strip of leather between his teeth and the potion Gaius had him take to help with the pain. Merlin passed out after that as Gaius expected. Arthur and most of the knights had cringed watching their friend in such pain. Gaius then applied a split to support the broken leg. He then wrapped it with a blanket to cushion it. After all that Gaius checked over the rest of Merlin, wrapped his sprained wrist and checked the rest of his body for any unknown injuries. Gaius said everything else was well to the relief of Arthur and the knights.

They had to wait for Merlin to wake up again after that. Once he did, Gaius gave him another potion to help with additional pain and they helped him onto a horse. They had to move slowly, painfully slowly, in order to keep Merlin from jostling too much. Once they had reached Camelot, Gwen had come rushing out and immediately fussed over Merlin. Gaius and Gwen both made sure that Merlin ate a little more before he went to sleep.

Only once Merlin's breathing had slowed as he fell into his deep sleep did Arthur finally relax. Gwen hugged Arthur gratefully.

"Thank goodness you found him," she said softly.

Arthur didn't speak. He just held her, finally glad that Merlin was safe.

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**I hope you all liked the reunion. I certainly enjoyed it. The next chapter is the last one, so enjoy it while you can. I will update soon.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for your support in every way. Here is the last chapter. Let me know if you think this should have a sequel or if I should just continue it or whatever. Well, enjoy!  
**

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Chapter Five

When Merlin woke up he was glad to see he was back in his room. He was more comfortable than he had been in some time and was comfortably warm. He noticed his leg was now wrapped professionally with clean bandages and he noticed some crutches nearby. He knew those weren't going to be fun, but he could deal. He noticed his wrist was also bandaged, but he could hardly feel any pain coming from it. He slowly sat up, his muscles protesting from being unused for so long. He struggled with the crutches to the door careful to not let his broken leg touch anything. He opened the door and stumbled out to find Gaius Arthur and Gwen talking quietly at one of the tables. They all looked at Merlin as he clumsily made his way down his small staircase.

"You shouldn't be moving about," Gaius said standing up.

"I'm fine," Merlin said nearly tripping and falling on his face. "Just need to get used to these," he reassured with a smile, indicating the crutches.

He sat on a nearby bed. His arms already hurt from using the stupid crutches.

"How are you feeling?" Gwen asked.

"Great," Merlin said carefully placing his leg on the bed. "A lot better since I was found."

Arthur had a strange look come over his face for just a second, but returned to an unreadable one before Merlin could tell what it was.

"It will take three to six months to heal Merlin," Gaius said walking over to him.

"That long?" Merlin and Arthur exclaimed at the same time.

Gaius looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow. "Yes that long. Three months is the minimum but since it went untreated for so long I wouldn't be surprised if it took the full six months," Gaius explained.

Merlin looked rather crestfallen. "What am I going to do for _six months_?"

"And whose going to be my servant?" Arthur jumped in.

"You can do little things, polish armor, mend clothes, things like that. With the rest of your time you can study medicine with me," Gaius said looking a little too happy about that.

"Now I'm going to have some boot licker to do most of the work," Arthur complained.

Merlin still didn't look happy with what he would have to do for six months. "Look at it this way Merlin, You won't have to muck out the stables or wake early to take Arthur his breakfast," Gaius pointed out.

Merlin smiled a little at that, but still grimaced. Gaius knew he was worried he wouldn't be able to follow and protect Arthur. Gaius thought for a moment before standing up.

"I'll be back in a bit," he said walking towards the door. "I have a few errands to do."

All eyes watched him leave before turning back to one another. Gwen stood up and walked over to Merlin.

"I'm glad you are feeling better. I'm glad you're safe," she said hugging him. She stood up and made her way to the door as well. "I'm going to tell the knights you are awake," she explained before disappearing through the door.

Merlin looked at Arthur and smiled.

"What are you staring at?" Arthur asked suspicious.

Merlin's smile faltered. "I'm just glad you came for me," he said quietly.

Arthur was more confused. "What do you mean? Of course I came for you."

Merlin paused wondering if he should tell Arthur. "It's just that for a moment, when I was in the cave, I thought maybe you wouldn't even notice I was gone. That I would be left to die out there and no one would care."

Arthur frowned. "While I do admit you tend to disappear randomly and usually come back just fine, I always notice. I always send someone to look for you. I come myself if I can. Course now that I'm king I can do whatever I want."

Merlin smiled. "You sure took your time though," Merlin said, knowingly goading him.

Arthur was about to yell at Merlin when the door burst open with five knights tumbling in. "Merlin!" they all exclaimed pushing shoving their way in. they surrounded Merlin and Arthur glared at them all, accusing them in his mind for planning the time for bursting in.

"How you feeling mate?" Gwaine said placing his hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"Fine," Merlin answered smiling at all his guests.

They all seemed to start talking at once, Merlin had trouble concentrating on anything anyone was saying. Arthur just rolled his eyes.

"Oi!" Came a voice from the door. It was Gaius. Everyone went silent immediately. "This isn't the tavern," Gaius said annoyed. "Merlin needs to get some rest," Gaius said hoping they would get the hint.

Apart from looking sheepish, the knights didn't move. Gaius sighed. "That means you lot need to get out," Gaius said bluntly.

"But we just got here," Elyan said.

"You'll just have to come back later. Merlin won't be going anywhere for some time."

The knights slumped their shoulders and slowly left, shuffling their feet.

Arthur stayed where he stood.

"You too sire," Gaius said.

Arthur scrunched his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when Gaius simply raised his eyebrows. Arthur stood and started walking towards the door. He noticed Gaius was holding a couple of books. He wanted to question Gaius as to what chores required him getting books. He thought he had plenty, but left under the old mans stare. With a final glance in Merlin's direction walked out glumly.

It was Merlin's turn to raise his eyebrow. "I don't need sleep. It's a broken leg," Merlin pointed out.

"Yes, but they don't know that," Gaius said taking his seat next to Merlin.

Merlin turned his head questioningly.

"I had to get them out of here so I could give these to you," Gaius said handing Merlin the books in his hands.

Merlin looked down at them and started flipping through them thinking Gaius wanted him to start learning everything about medicine immediately.

"You won't just be studying medicine while your leg heals. You will study magic," Gaius said just as Merlin recognized the writings in the books as being written in the old language.

Merlin smiled a wide smile. "Where did you get these?" Merlin asked.

"I know a few people," was all Gaius would say.

Merlin beamed. "This will make it slightly better I suppose, but," Merlin said thinking of his need to protect Arthur.

"But you're still worried about Arthur," Gaius guessed.

Merlin nodded.

"Maybe there's something in one of these books that can help," Gaius suggested. "At least you can do something useful with the new time you have."

"I still wish there was a way I could watch over Arthur..."merlin trailed off as an idea suddenly came to him.

"Oh dear, I know that look," Gaius commented.

Merlin immediately started flipping through one of the new books.

"What is it this time Merlin?" Gaius asked.

"First I need to make a scrying glass, so I can watch Arthur from afar. Then if I can heal my leg, I can still go off and save him. I'll just have to hide a little better. Maybe I could also learn some more disguising spells instead of just being eighty years old. A transportation spell would be good too," Merlin rambled off.

Gaius just smiled at Merlin's genius. "So you're going to fake your broken leg and use it to get out of chores and learn magic. You are devious aren't you," Gaius said laughing.

Merlin smiled. "I'll become even better at protecting Arthur!" Merlin defended.

"That you will," Gaius laughed. "It still won't get you out of studying medicine."

Merlin frowned. "Why? Now that I can study magic I don't need to study medicine."

"What if Arthur becomes suspicious you're lazing about. He'll expect you to learn something. He might even test you," Gaius pointed out.

Merlin frowned. "Fine. I will study magic and medicine."

"It's a useful skill to have you know," Gaius said.

"I know, it just doesn't come to me as easily as magic does," Merlin complained.

Gaius rolled his eyes, but was glad Merlin would finally take some studying pointers from him. He had always wanted an apprentice to study medicine under him. Now he finally would.

"I wonder if there's a spell to change Arthur into a toad," Gaius heard Merlin mutter.

Gaius rolled his eyes. Things were certainly back to normal.

The End

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**Let me know what I should do and if you liked it!**


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